Tis the season to be jolly and as I had run out of foundation I decided to do a little bit of make-up shopping with some of my Christmas money. As you may know I am currently trading over all of my toiletries and cosmetics to animal friendly ones. This was a perfect opportunity to hunt down something new that matched my 2013 plan to be free from animal testing products.
I headed over to Marks and Spencer’s to grab some Christmas food and while I was there checked out their make-up section. I was pleased to see the section was very quiet and so it was easy to look around at all the lovely leaping bunny endorsed items!
I think my favourite item was their moose foundation however I decided not to buy it as I felt I would end up using it very, very quickly. I really need something that gives me a measurable amount from a pump to prevent me using too much.
In the end I went for the Ultimate Wear Long Lasting Foundation from their Autograph range. It has a medium – full coverage and an SPF of 25. Now I do find the colour match good which is always a big one for me. I’m stereotypically Irish and paler than a bottle of milk! I went for Ivory. The high SPF is also a great factor and it stays on well for the day however I have to say it is a bit oily when putting on. At £12 it is a snip but due to the oiliness, next time I may try one of their more expensive ranges or the moose and restrain myself when using it. For now though, I am happily converted over to them and will definitely be trying more of their range soon! In fact, my blusher is almost done….
(excuse the paleness of the bottle – this is the flash, the foundation is actually slightly darker)
I also bought some Barry M. I will admit, I only wanted the gold nail polish to do a red and gold manicure on myself but to get the polish I had to spend £6 on products. I went for the dazzle dust. Having been told by the girl in my class who I trust for advice on make-up (she was already very accomplished in it before she started the course!) that gold really makes my eyes pop I went for a gold dust and also a pink one as I really enjoy wearing pinks.
I was very impressed with the pigments and can see myself wearing these often as I do love a bit of glitter. You will see they look great in the pot and that the colour shows up fantastically on the back of my hand. The polish also did not disappoint. It is slightly textured to the touch when dry and gives great coverage on and so is fine to use over other dark colours. I wouldn’t advise wearing it on its own like in my photos as personally i don’t think it looks great alone, it did however look brilliant when I first tried it on over red.
I also managed to nab myself a No.7 Light-up mirror reduced from £50 to £19.99 (or £15.50 ish for me after my staff discount). So pleased with the price I got it for and having used it before at my sisters I knew I would not be dissapointed. I will do a seperate blog on it at another point and for now I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and may Santa bring you all lots of cruelty free toiletries and cosmetics to fill your 2013 with.
xx
Diary Of A Beauty Therapist 